The Real Wall Isn’t at the Border

28Jan

President Trump wants $5.7 billion to build a wall at the southern border of the United States. Nancy Pelosi thinks a wall is “immoral.” The fight over these slats or barriers or bricks shut down the government for more than a month and may do so again if Mr. Trump isn’t satisfied with the way negotiations unfold over the next three weeks.

But let’s be clear: This
is a disagreement about symbolism, not policy. Liberals object less to
aggressive border security than to the wall’s xenophobic imagery, while the
administration openly revels in its political incorrectness. And when this
particular episode is over, we’ll still have been fighting about the wrong
thing. It’s true that immigrants will keep trying to cross into the United
States and that global migration will almost certainly increase in the coming
years as climate change makes parts of the planet uninhabitable. But technology
and globalization are complicating the idea of what a border is and where it
stands.

Not long from now, it
won’t make sense to think of the border as a line, a wall or even any kind of
imposing vertical structure. Tearing down, or refusing to fund, border walls
won’t get anyone very far in the broader pursuit of global justice. The borders
of the future won’t be as easy to spot, build or demolish as the wall that Mr.
Trump is proposing. That’s because they aren’t just going up around countries —
they’re going up around us. And they’re taking away our freedom.

Sponsorship Disclaimer

The Rational Middle® Energy Series is sponsored by Shell Oil Company (Shell) and Center for Houston's Future. The views expressed as part of the Rational Middle® Energy Series may not necessarily reflect the views of Shell, CHF or any of their affiliates.